New Testament Survey

Welcome

Study
to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to
be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2
Timothy 2:15

A New Testament survey course
is one which reviews the content,unity, and progression
of the New Testament. Its purpose is to explore God’s Word on a
brief book-by-book basis to see how each fits into the overall plan of
the New Testament. It is, thus, a survey of the pages of the New Testament,
just as a surveyor might explore a piece of real estate to determine its
boundaries and makeup. George Washington surveyed much of the early frontier
of America, particularly the Commonwealth of Virginia. He learned much
about this great Commonwealth performing his surveys. May God richly bless
you in this survey of His Word.

This course needs to be distinguished
from those taught in Bible colleges and seminaries which are referred
to as “Introductions.” An “Introduction” course
explores manuscript issues of each book. This type of course would look
at the problems of authorship and the creation, transmission, and preservation
of each book, as well as the theology of each book. This study you are
about to embark upon may touch upon these issues, but a detailed discussion
is not part of the intended subject matter.

A comment or two about the
materials for this course are in order. First, the prime course book is
the Bible. It is suggested that
you read much of each book the week prior to its study. But if you cannot,
please do not allow this to keep you away. The concept of a survey course
assumes some knowledge of each part of the New Testament, but this knowledge
need not be very deep for this course to be of benefit.

Secondly, I pray that these
course materials will provide a quick, easy to read survey work. Again,
it will be helpful, but not necessary, if you read this information in
advance of each class. For those desiring further study, a bibliography
will be attached at the end of these materials.

It is not the intention to
create a school type atmosphere as we perform our survey. However, the
more you read God’s Word and the better prepared you are by reading
the student materials, the more you will benefit from your attendance.
To assist you in this, each week’s lesson will end with a suggested
key (memory) verse(s) and set of readings for the next week. You are encouraged
to make use of your time by reading these materials.